I arrived just in time to slap the cake out of the maid's hand and it splashed on the ground. I immediately grabbed Quistis and raised her in my arms, screaming at the maid:
"Leave right now or I am calling the knights!"
At that point I knew that I was completely on my own and the maid seemed to have understood that too. It must have been common knowledge that I was just a nuisance by then and no one respected me anymore. The maid just smiled:
"Mister Gnash? What are you doing? I was trying to make the princess eat her snack.
-Stop playing dumb! That cake is poisoned!"
The maid pretended to be surprised but seemed way too amused. I could see that I wasn't a danger to her at all.
"Poisoned? How could you say that?
-You poisoned it! I heard you two talking!"
The maid really laughed at that point:
"The Marquis' son is talking about poison all of a sudden. That is really suspicious don't you think? I should quickly protect Quistis."
She looked down at the cake:
"I am so relieved that I slapped the cake out of your hands. This could have been very dangerous.
-What the hell are you talking about? You're the one who tried poisoning Quistis.
-And who would believe you?
-You're crazy! How could you go after a child? What the hell is wrong with you?"
I was so frustrated and angry at that point that I was screaming my lungs out. That was what saved me. Knights further away heard the screams and rushed closer. Seeing that I was the one screaming, they looked more curious than anything but seeing knights was enough to scare the maid. She immediately lost her smile and started running away. Seeing the suspicious behavior, the knights caught her immediately which was ironic. She would probably have gotten away with it had she kept her composure until the end. The knights would have probably laughed at me thinking that I had made a scene for nothing. Thinking about that felt unfair and infuriating.
Once safe, Quistis immediately started crying. She cried for a long time and I couldn't calm her down at all. After long minutes she finally calmed down enough to talk through her tears:
"I was so scared! She was so scary! I didn't want to eat. I didn't want to follow her. I said no! I promise I said no! It's not my fault."
I started rubbing her back slowly:
"Of course it isn't. You were so brave. You can be proud of yourself."
Quistis calmed down a bit more and the knights tried taking her from me. She immediately grabbed my clothes, shaking her head with all her might. She didn't let me go for a second and I whispered:
"It's okay, I am here. You are fine now."
I was terribly relieved and was even happy seeing Payne and Essence rushing towards us for a second. I thought that they would thank me and we would laugh about all this but I couldn't have been more wrong. They not only didn't thank me, they started suspecting me hearing the maids cries:
"Thank God you are here... I tried stopping him but he said he would kill the princess. He tried making her eat that poisoned cake.
-I didn't!"
Seeing their frowns was like a punch to the gut. I stopped denying and just gave up. I had given it my all. I was terribly scared for Quistis. I ran all around and saved her life. If I had been just a second later, she could have been gone. Seeing their stares made me feel empty.
"He didn't do anything wrong! He saved me! Please don't be mad at him! He saved me!"
It took Quistis yelling and crying to finally stop doubting me. They still didn't apologize, however. They took the maid away and apologized to Quistis for getting her in danger. Seeing the hate in their eyes when they turned to me turned my blood cold. That was when it hit me. These people would never like me and I was done trying. I didn't want them to believe me anymore. Even less to thank me. Who cared if I was the villain in their eyes? Maybe I really should be.
I shook my head to forget about the memories. I knew exactly how that conversation would play out and frankly I didn't care. I just wanted to show Payne that contrary to what he said, I couldn't trust him at all. Judging by the first time, the murder attempt must have been around the corner and I wasn't going to let Quistis be scared like that again. Therefore I just said:
"I have something to tell you."
Payne immediately nodded:
"Let's go to my study."
It was weird that Payne would look so serious about something I had said but I just ignored it and followed him. Getting back in the study felt ironic somewhere. Here I was, back to the room where I had told him about the danger the first time and where he would once again completely ignore me.
Payne didn't sit down behind his desk. He escorted me to the sofa and gestured for me to sit down. I did and Payne sat down in front of me.
"I am listening.
-I heard a conversation between a maid and a servant."
Payne didn't interrupt me yet therefore I went on:
"They were talking about poisoning Quistis. I don't know when they plan to do it but they talked about putting the poison in a cake and making Quistis eat it while playing outside."
There was a brief silence before Payne nodded slowly:
"Thank you for telling me."
I froze:
"What?
-I will take up the investigation from here. You have done more than enough."
I laughed:
"Right, you just don't believe me and want me to stop talking."
Payne's head jerked up:
"I believe you. I will find those servants and execute them."
I had to admit, I got taken aback by the word execute but that wasn't the important part right there and I had to focus:
"You believe me?
-Why wouldn't I?"
I thought I would faint:
"What do you mean why? I am the enemy's son. How could you trust me?
-You are not your father."
Then why was he an ### to me the first time around?!
"How could you trust me? You hate my family."
Payne grabbed my hand and I felt goosebumps all over my body. I pulled it away immediately after. Seeing me do so, Payne pinched his lips:
"I love you."
I went completely speechless. I opened my mouth three times to say something but no sounds came out. What did he just say?
"Don't worry, I will find them."
Seeing me still frozen, Payne added:
"Would you like to participate in the investigation?"
My mind was completely empty. I had no idea why he would behave in such a way. I thought that I understood Payne perfectly by then but he was completely unpredictable. Did he try trapping me? Did he want to stage it as if I was the one who poisoned Quistis? Or was this an keep your friends close and your enemies closer type of thing? Did he believe that I wanted to poison Quistis? Was he keeping an eye on me?
"Zeidan? Would you like to participate in the investigation?"
I nodded. No matter his reasons, my priority was to protect Quistis.